Traditionally, motion pictures have provided inexpensive and accessible entertainment for a large portion of the population worldwide. Until recently, the nature of the product being provided by motion picture theaters is of a one-size-fits-all nature. That is, movie theaters have provided an identical experience to all patrons attending any movie theater or multiplex.
As individual consumer tastes developed, the industry saw the need for a more upscale type of service for patrons that desire better service and are willing to pay additional fees for it. This demand has seen the development of “VIP” (very important person) movie theaters offering the additional, more expensive services. Among these services are included: larger, more comfortable seats; reclining seats; seat-side food service; complete, restaurant-style food and beverage menus; and the like.
The existence of two distinct levels of service has forced patrons and theater operators to make a choice, from the outset, as to what type of service they wish to experience and provide respectively.
At present, there is no mixed-class service that allows different patrons attending the same movie theater to experience differing levels of service depending on how much they wish to pay. Such a mixed-class service is similar to an airline offering a first class cabin and an economy cabin all in the same flight.
The principal reason for this is the fact that in order to provide each class of service, a significantly different configuration of the theater's seating area is needed for each class. The overwhelming majority of movie theaters in the U.S. are single-tiered offering no natural separations that could serve to divide seating areas into differently-configured areas.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a mixed-class service multiple-tier theater that allows different patrons attending the same movie to experience differing levels of service depending on how much they wish to pay. Further, there is a need in the art for such a theater in which the configuration of the various tiers is optimized to allow for the most convenient, enjoyable and commercially feasible operation possible